Prepaid cash card calling is presently being made available by certain companies (AT&T, Sprint, and others) over their own networks. Generally these services involve allowing access to the provider's network by having the end-user dial an 800 number. A database with account management and real-time-rating capabilities (RATER) tracks the prepaid cash card value and deducts the account as call progression occurs.
The customer acquires a card with a special code, a credit amount and the telephone number of a special central office or like facility, by either a cash or credit card payment. The code, the credit amount and telephone numbers may be acquired, for example, through the regular credit card companies and charged to the acquirer's credit card.
Alternatively, the credit or cash amount, the telephone numbers and identifying code can be purchased at sales points such as in airports, hotels, rent-a-car stations and the like. The amount paid is credited to the acquirer for use against future telephone calls. The credited amount is stored in a memory at the special central office or the like, such as a data base or platform, along with the special code.
A party wishing to make a telephone call, which may be a local call or a toll call, can acquire a prepaid credit amount. He or she uses the nearest available telephone, removes the handset, and dials a special data base, platform or special central office or exchange. When he or she is connected to the data base, platform, special central office or exchange, a special dial tone is sent from the special exchange to the calling station. When the calling party hears the special dial tone, indicating that the computer at the exchange is ready for the user, he or she dials the identifying code and the desired called number. The computer at the special exchange checks the code and registers the desired called number.
If the code number is a genuine code with credit, a regular dial tone is sent to the calling party station as he or she is connected to the regular telephone system. The computer at the special exchange routes the call on the most economical available lines according to prior arrangements with long distance line suppliers. The calling party's predialed numbers are transmitted. The system can also be arranged so that the calling party dials the called party responsive to receipt of the regular dial tone.
Special exchange equipment, such as an intelligent platform, can provide an artificial or prerecorded voice announcement stating the amount of credit available and that the amount of credit is equivalent to a stated number of minutes of talking time on the call being connected. The announcement is made according to the charge rate for the distance between the calling and called parties.
A credit check can be accomplished contemporaneously with the number code verification. If the code is invalid an announcement is made advising the customer to try again. The customer is allowed a predetermined plurality of tries (for example three) before being disconnected from the special central office. If he or she is trying again for the second and third times he or she is reconnected to receive the special dial tone. After the third time he or she is released from the special exchange after receiving a recorded announcement explaining that the code is not valid.
Conventional systems can operate to allow the calling party to dial while the verification is being accomplished, in which case when the calling party hears normal dial tone. A register in the exchange can then input the dialed information to cause the exchange to complete the call between the calling party and the called party.
A normal time and distance computing circuit, such as a peg counter, can be put into service to provide information for timing the call against the available credit. Thus, for example, the information from the peg counter is sent to a comparator to continuously determine whether the calling party's credit is sufficient to pay for the call. When the credit equals the used time.times.rate, the call is automatically ended by the computer.
Upon failure to maintain a positive credit level, the connection between the calling and called party opens, the connection to the computer however remains, and an announcement is made to notify the customer to insert another code number, if available. If a new code number (with valid credit) is inserted by the customer, then the calling party again receives a dial tone and can dial a new called party. In other words, he or she goes back to the input where he or she has computer tone and is told to dial the code number and the calling party number. All the steps are repeated and the new call is connected. If the customer does not have a new code number, then the connection between the computer and the calling party is broken.
The call can also be terminated by the user. When the call is terminated by the user, and he or she still has credit, he or she is again connected to normal dial tone, and he or she merely has to dial another call, if so desired. If he or she does not want to dial another call, then he or she returns the handset to the hookswitch. If he or she does want to make another call, he or she dials the number after hearing a normal dial tone. Thus, the customer does not have to repeat the entire connection back to the computer and have the validation procedure repeated. He or she had already been checked and validated and therefore is connected to a normal dial tone. The process is repeated as long as positive credit remains.
With a dedicated public telephone, the customer calling party must have a prepaid code number. To begin the operation, he or she goes off hook with the dedicated public telephone. The calling station receives computer dial tones as soon as going off hook. He or she then dials in the secret code number and the system checks to see if he or she has a valid number. If he or she does, he or she is visually or audibly notified of the amount of credit available in his code. If he or she does not have a valid code then he or she is notified that he or she has inserted an invalid code. A recorded message can be sent for this purpose.
If an invalid code is inputted more than a predetermined number of times (three times for example), then the phone is disconnected for a specified time period (for example, five minutes). This disconnection time is implemented to discourage practical jokes, fraud or anyone maliciously trying to tie up the telephone. After the five minute time period, the phone is returned to its normal operating capabilities. A recorded message may be sent to notify potential users that this phone is out of order for diminishing periods of time, i.e., three minutes, four minutes, etc.
After verification of the code number and credit, the calling party is connected to the regular telephone system and receives a regular dial tone. The calling party goes through the normal call process. Responsive to dialing, the user is given a call duration announcement indicating the length of call time that the credit amount will allow. The time charge rate of the call is continuously computed and subtracted from the credit amount. The call can be terminated either due to lack of credit or by the user. If the user terminates by dialing special code or by closing the hook switch when there is still more credit left, the user is then provided with a regular dial tone. If there is no credit left then the calling party phone is connected to the computer and receives the computer dial tone. If he or she does not dial in his or her code number after a predetermined time period, he or she is disconnected. Using an announcement, he or she can be notified to input a code or be disconnected. It should be understood that both announcements and visual indications may be used.
When the code number and credit of a user are verified, the calling party is then connected through a register to a redialer. The register stores the called number which was received from the calling party and directs the redialer to dial the number after verification. The dialed number or dial tones are then directed through a router to the regular telephone system. The router selects the best possible route cost-wise for the particular call if it is a toll call.
The common assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,787 to McKoy, et al., issued Apr. 15, 1997, for "Prepaid Cash Card," describes an improvement on the foregoing systems. The McKoy et al. Patent describes a prepaid cash card used to purchase services via telephone. That patent is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The system provides for selection of multiple interexchange carriers and a variety of techniques for authenticating the user of the prepaid cash card to purchase services via telephone.
Like the older conventional art previously described, the system described in the McKoy et al. Patent is based upon a prepaid cash card that provides an alternative to using coins or other forms of payment for toll calls. The purchaser (end user) of the prepaid cash card has the option of selecting his or her own Interexchange Carrier (IXC) if long distance calls are purchased with the card described in the McKoy et al. Patent.
After purchase of a prepaid cash card, which has a set dollar value determined at the time of the purchase, the end-user can access services over the Cash Card Network (CCN), such as that described with respect to the conventional art. When an end-user uses the prepaid cash card to place calls, the intelligence to permit call completion will exist within a separate platform (such as that described in the patent), rather than in the calling station. The account management and call rating for the call is provided through a separate authorization network, which is stated to be capable of integration into an Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) technology in the ultimate version. However, the version described does not rely on AIN, but rather a dedicated network as depicted in the drawings of the patent.
While the above described systems provide a greater or lesser fulfillment of their intended functions they do not respond to a number of demands that are outstanding at the present time. As an example of these needs may be cited the satisfaction of the requirements of so called Universal Service.
The concept of universal service is old in the telecommunications industry and is applicable to both interexchange (long distance) carriers and local exchange carriers. The regulatorily mandated goal is to provide basic telephone service on a universal basis, including to people of lesser means and people with a poor record of timely payment for services. Typically, these people received local calling services but could not make long distance calls. The regulatory agencies are pushing to extend Universal Service to include a limited amount of long distance services. For the long distance calls, because of the time-based toll charges, there is a need to control usage to some set limit.
It would be possible to give these people pre-paid calling cards in fixed denominations. However, one of the other outstanding requirements of interest to the regulators is to have these customers not be required to utilize long access arrangements in order to utilize the long distance service made available to them. In addition to these needs is also the requirement of providing equal access as defined by the various regulatory agencies, e.g. to the long distance carrier of choice. As outlined above, use of pre-paid calling cards services required long complex input sequence. Also, the choice of card in practice, often serves to pick a particular long distance carrier. These shortcomings are addressed by the method and system of the present invention.